About

My name is Richard Jacobsen. I have a B.A. in English and an M.S.Ed. in Adolescent education, both earned at Saint John’s University. I hold a New York State Initial Teaching Certification for English Grades 7-12, and am currently working for my Massachusetts Initial Teaching Certification for English Grades 8-12.

I am currently seeking employment as a teacher in either New York or Massachusetts, though I am willing to relocate and take the steps to earn certification for another state if offered a position.

In addition to this portfolio, I also maintain a creative writing blog at The Whyte Star Project and a semi-journalistic food blog at The Banquet of My Life. It is my deepest hope that doing something as unorthodox as showcasing my ability to write across three blogs, each with its own independent theme, will get the attention of someone who is able and willing to give me the opportunity I have been aggressively, yet fruitlessly, seeking since finishing graduate school.

Officially, my work experience background is in the Retail sector. For over seven years, I have worked in Customer Service, predominantly holding some sort of supervisory or managerial role. A key component of this experience has been in the training and ongoing development of my subordinates. While many people have failed to see the connection between retail new hire training and high school education, I have learned the following:

1) the workforce for retail tends to be adolescents, predominantly in high school;

2) the standards of performance are set by a corporate leadership that is predominantly physically present in the “learning environment;”

3) different people learn in different ways, which requires adaptability of instructional methodology within a limited time frame;

4) it is crucial to make your learner feel empowered, which can then enable them to meet and exceed expectations, regardless of their starting skill level, through appropriate, timely feedback.

At the risk of sounding flippant, my own experience compels me to ask the question: ow are they “completely unrelated?”